This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Wang, X. and Keane, M. A. (2019), Gas phase selective hydrogenation of phenylacetylene to styrene over Au/Al2O3. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol., 94: 3772-3779., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.6002. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.